David Rockefeller, the world’s oldest billionaire, died last Monday at the age of 101 with a wealth of $3.3 billion behind him. While officially the 604th richest person in the world according to the Forbes list, his family have given away literally billions of dollars over the years since moving to the USA in 1720. He may be the last remaining grandchild of the great John D Rockefeller senior but the Rockefeller legacy will live on. This does prompt the question, are the billionaires of today different from the Rockefellers of yesteryear?
A different world today
You will need to look at the flotation of SnapChat on the US markets, with a $20 billion market capitalisation, to realise the markets we work in today are very different. While it took decades for the Rockefellers to develop their billions, the founders of SnapChat have done this in a fraction of that time. Even if you look at somebody like Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, it took him decades to build up his wealth as he nurtured and expanded Microsoft.
It is wrong to suggest that the billionaires of today have not “earned” their wealth but the business cycle is much shorter these days than it was centuries or even decades ago. As the technology industry continues to grab the headlines it is difficult to name many traditional businesses which have recently gone from strength to strength creating billionaires. It may be that investors are less patient these days? It may be that technology-based companies have a more competitive edge compared to traditional office led businesses?
Celebrity status
One of the big differences between billionaires of today and billionaires of yesteryear is the fact that many of the rich and famous today need publicity. They have their own publicity teams ensuring that their name is out there as often as possible while the traditional billionaires from yesteryear tended to remain behind the scenes. True, like the Rockefellers, their names were well-known amongst the investment community but they did not make public announcements about every element of their private and business life. The celebrity status of the modern-day billionaire seems to be as important to them as their success in business?
Charitable donations
While the traditional billionaires of yesteryear often gave significant parts of their wealth to charitable organisations and special projects, many billionaires of today also have that same philanthropy blood running through their veins. Bill Gates, seen as a modern-day billionaire but one who built his wealth via the traditional business route, is one of the world’s most generous donors to an array of different projects. So, it is wrong to suggest that the billionaires of today are not as generous as the billionaires of years gone by but they may well have a different view on where to donate their funds.
Conclusion
The death of David Rockefeller is poignant as he is the last grandchild of the famous John D Rockefeller. There are still many billionaires around the world but many of the recent technology-based billionaires have a very different outlook on life compared to those who can trace their billionaire families back centuries. It is probably doing the modern-day billionaire a disservice to suggest they are not as charitable as more “traditional billionaires” it’s just they do things in a very different manner today.